Between Sandpoint, Idaho and Libby, Montana there is not much to look
at if you are on the South side of the train. Unfortunately, this is the side I
am on. While the people on the other side of the train are getting views of
mile after mile of the Kootenai River, I am seeing mile after mile of red rock
face generously dusted with a covering of evergreen, fir and other various
deciduous trees. This landscape does not
bolster my attention, but for now that’s ok since I have this travelogue to
write. Eventually we come into a small
but wide valley, the location of the town of Libby, Montana. Here my Cell Phone
finally decides to take notice of the time change that occurred when we crossed
the Idaho/Montana border, and kicks over to Mountain Time. Libby looks to be a
charming little hamlet but we cannot linger here since we are already so far
behind schedule. We leave Libby at 10:33
AM Mountain Time, running 5 hours and 7 Minutes late.
Wednesday, 12:09 PM (MST),
07/11/12 – Siding near Whitefish, Montana
After getting on the train so late last night, I was exhausted from
having such a long day of travel. Dining
service was started almost immediately and consisted of 4 seatings, each about
30 minutes or so apart. From being so tired I decided not to partake of dinner
last night. This morning I was worn out from such a long night of sleep with
the train making all of its reverse movements in Spokane that I stayed in my
roomette this morning and skipped out on breakfast. So needless to say, it is now 12:15 PM
Mountain Time and I have not eaten since breakfast yesterday morning, Pacific
Time. I’m famished! I am sure I will be partaking of this afternoon’s lunch sitting.
Wednesday, 1:00 PM (MST), 07/11/2012 – West of Whitefish, Montana
As I mentioned previously, I
decided to take part of today’s lunch fare. Since this is my first trip of
great length on Amtrak, I want to see just exactly what the chefs on Amtrak are
capable of. However, I also do not want
to lose momentum on the work I brought with me, so I almost opted out of
partaking in the noon meal. That’s where our amazing car attendant Kelly came to
the rescue! He informed me that if I
would prefer, he can put in an order to the dining car and have my lunch
brought to my room. Huzzah! I graciously thank Kelly for turning me on to this
little tip; now I can continue working!
After looking over the limited menu for a moment, I decided on an Angus
Steak Burger with Kettle Chips and a Pepsi. The burger, although not the best I
have ever had, is not bad. I’m surprised at the quality of the burger. Makes me
wonder what else they’ve got to offer down there in the galley!
Wednesday, 2:36 PM (MST) 07/11/2012 – Maria’s Pass, Montana
When crossing Western Montana,
Great Northern Railway President James J. Hill needed a route over the Rocky
Mountains in order to continue building his ambitious gateway railroad from the
Midwest to Seattle, Portland and the trading markets of Asia. Earlier in the 19th Century, the
Lewis and Clark Expedition had also tried to chart a path over the Rockies but
were unsuccessful. To be sure, James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway owe
their success to one man. It was John Stevens, working as a Surveyor for the
Great Northern, who finally discovered a passage in 1889. Almost freezing to death in temperatures of –
40°F
below Zero, Stevens definitely earned his place in American Rail History. Upon
reaching the top of Maria’s Pass one crosses the Continental Divide, marked by
a large sandstone obelisk on the south side of US Highway 2. All waterways from
here flow eastward, joining the Missouri and Mississippi River systems. This is my first time crossing the
Continental divide. I was only about 15 miles away from it in 2009 when I
visited the Grand Tetons in Northwestern Wyoming, but I never crossed it. Another first for me on this trip!
Wednesday, 3:00PM (MST) 07/11/2012 – East of the Rockies –Cut Bank,
Shelby and Havre, Montana
Shortly after climbing down the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains we
completed the station stop at East Glacier Park, Montana. This stop is normally completed at 9:54 AM
Mountain Time but we arrive here at 2:54 PM, exactly 5 hours late. At least
with all the delays we had yesterday, we don’t seem to be losing any time.
Perhaps we can even make some of it up along the plains of eastern Montana and
North Dakota throughout the rest of today and into tomorrow morning. We leave Cut
Bank at 3:51 PM running 5 hours and 7 minutes late but manage to leave Shelby,
Montana at 4:25 PM, now running only 4 hours and 42 minutes late. Somehow we managed to lose time without ever
stopping or being pulled into a siding. We arrived into Havre, MT at 6:29 PM
running 5 hours and 17 minutes late. This is the latest we have been on this
trip as of yet.
Wednesday, 7:30PM (MST) 07/11/2012 – Harlem, Montana
I just heard some other passengers joking with our car attendant Kelly
about tips. Customarily, it is considered to be a courtesy to tip your car
attendant based upon the level and quality of their service. His laughing reply
to one of the jokes was, “tips are a gift but are not expected.” Needless to
say with this kind of an attitude, he will definitely be getting a tip from
me. Kelly’s service has been exemplary
on this entire trip, and I hope he continues on as a car attendant with Amtrak
for many years because he’s very good at what he does.
Although it’s only 7:30 PM (and 6:30 PM Pacific Time), I think I may
consider having Kelly turn down my bed pretty soon. I didn’t sleep very well
the night before I left on this trip, which is always a telling sign. Last
night with all the moving and cutting of the power, I got a very fitful night’s
rest again. With those two nights of bad sleep, I am really dragging this
evening! I am also hoping that by going to bed early I can be up early tomorrow
morning on the off chance that the train catches up by five hours to make our
expected 7:05 AM arrival time in Minneapolis.
Thursday, 7:30 AM (Central Standard Time) 07/12/2012 – Grand Forks,
North Dakota
When I woke up at about 6:15
this morning, our train was pulling into a siding to wait for clearance to head
into the Grand Forks Amtrak station. Since that time, we have barely moved one
mile and have only now just started to pick up speed after finally being
spotted into the Grand Forks station. By my calculation, this puts our train
off schedule by 7 hours. We must have
lost some time during the evening, I guess.
So one experience I had hoped to have was to shower on the train. I
wanted to see how adept I was at keeping my balance while trying to wash off!
But alas, when I went down to the shower room this morning, there was no water
for a shower. Bummer. I’ll definitely be having one when I check into my hotel
in Minneapolis…that, and a nap!
Thursday, 5:24 PM (CST)
07/12/2012 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Well here I am, coming to you LIVE from east of the Mississippi River
for the first time in my life! I finally arrived into Midway Station in Minneapolis at 2:30 PM CST, running 7
Hours and 25 minutes late. By the time
we got to the station all I wanted to do was sleep! I made sure to find my car
attendant, Kelly, and commend him on a job well done as well as provide him
with a tip. If all Amtrak employees were as friendly and efficient as Kelly, I
am sure I wouldn’t hear nearly as many complaints about Amtrak as I have
heard!
After checking into my hotel at 3:30 PM and getting settled into my
room, the first thing on the docket was to grab a hot shower and put on a pot
of coffee. It is amazing how much more I feel like a human being when I have
that combination working for me! For
now, I think I will sign off and call this the end of this travelogue series.
Be watching for “Part 2 – The Return Journey”, which will most likely be posted
after I get home in the middle of next week. Until then, stay awesome and God
bless!
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